Right now I'm feeding canned Prescription Diet k/d to Henry, my 16 year old feline companion who started having kidney problems over a year ago. He also has intermittent respiratory issues, but still seems a pretty happy guy.

He seems to have stopped losing weight, but I don't think Prescription diet is probably that high of quality food (We fed the cats dry Katz-n-flocken until his blood tests started showing kidney failure last summer). I've been in pretty intense school until recently, so I've just kept him on this, per the vet's suggestion. And I must admit it's been over a year & I wasn't sure he'd make it this long, so maybe I should keep feeding him this.

Any suggestions? I supplement with the dry form of this food, (but his main meals are the canned stuff), so I might keep him on the canned Prescription Diet, but supplement with dry food from suggestions from here.

_________________I once caught the clap from a salty navy bean on shore leave. Damn beans.--Desdemona

Also, the reason I found out about the kidney problems was when he partially lost a tooth last summer, (hanging on barely..it was aaawful)!!!! and I had a blood panel done when we had the tooth pulled. He's lost 2 different nails recently, which I haven't noticed with his sister. Does anyone know if this is age related, or from the kidney problems?

_________________I once caught the clap from a salty navy bean on shore leave. Damn beans.--Desdemona

Thanks for the input, strawberry rock- I do get that it is super important for his kidneys to keep him hydrated. I only have the dry food around as sort of extra-bonus food. I feed him twice a day with wet food, which is his main source of nutrition. I also have two water dishes for him I change daily, as well. I just like to have the dry food always available for him, since I am also very concerned about his weight.

I was wondering if anyone had any specific brands they've used in the past? As usual, when I research pet food, there is all kinds of conflicting info. One site I found claims that Prescription Diet for kidney's actually caused cats kidney failure. It is too bad there is not evidenced-based research on cat food, or really any pet food, I guess. I was just hoping maybe someone could shed light on some of the different brands that they've used in the past.

_________________I once caught the clap from a salty navy bean on shore leave. Damn beans.--Desdemona

my cat was diagnosed with renal insufficiency two years ago. we tried every prescription food available, and the only one she was willing to eat regularly was the royal canin modified lp. she eats mostly wet food now, but i leave dry down for her, too, because she ate dry food for most of her life and she fusses if it isn't there. but she loses interest in any food after eating it for a few days in a row, so i did some research and made a list of lower-phosphorous, lower-sodium foods that have a mix of proteins that's o.k. for her. i rotate those other foods in whenever she seems to be getting bored with her meals, and then we can go back to the prescription food for a while. she hasn't been to the vet for her annual checkup this year, but one year after her diagnosis her BUN and creatinine levels had barely budged, so i guess we're doing all right. i am noticing more pee in the box recently, but there's no way to stop the progression altogether. she acts like she feels pretty good, and that matters more to me than anything else.

the non-prescription foods i buy most often are the solid gold chicken/liver/whitefish and the organix turkey and rice foods (she's especially fond of the turkey and spinach mix). there are a couple of science diet foods that she'll eat, but she doesn't love them. and there's one kind of friskies (one of the indoor formulations) that i give her once in a while as a special treat, because i don't want anyone to tell me i can't have my favorite comfort foods when i'm 140 years old.

_________________"rise from the ashes of douchebaggery like a fancy vegan phoenix" - amandabear"I'm pretty sure the moral of this story is: fork pants." - cq

Thanks for the list of the foods you use, acr. I'm glad to hear your girl is faring well with her diagnoses. Royal Canin was the other food the vet recommended, I think. Solid Gold (Katz-n-flocken) was what we used to feed both our cats-but the one with purple on the package.

I realize I can't "cure" Henry, but the hope is, as with your cat, I can keep the disease from progressing as long as possible. He still totally acts like his old self, he's just much thinner, so that's something. And I like your thoughts about still feeding them what they like sometimes...we all deserve our favorite comfort foods in our old age. Thanks again for the post.

_________________I once caught the clap from a salty navy bean on shore leave. Damn beans.--Desdemona